She Changed Everything
by tallgirl32
Summary: Annahlea DeMarco was Tony Stark's best friend. She had been since they were kids. She was his equal in every way possible and she was the only thing that kept him together most times. She was his everything. And, She changed everything. Tony/OC I don't own Iron Man or Any of the Characters - All Belongs to Marvel
_"Tony wait for me!" Annahlea called after her best friend. Her short, four-year old legs not keeping up with his seven-year old ones. Annahlea rounded one of the corners of the great Stark mansion and was abruptly stopped by the legs of her mother._

 _"Mija what have I told you about running around the house?" Twenty-six year old Rosalie DeMarco asked her young daughter, her tired eyes giving her a sharp look and her laundry filled arms tensing as she awaited her daughter's response._

 _"Lo siento Mama, but Tony was doing it! And, and I was just trying to catch up to him, we're going down to the garage to work on the new circuit board for computer AT13…" Annahlea started to ramble only but, was stopped by her mother's tsk._

 _"Mija, it does not matter what Mister Tony does. This is his house he may do as he pleases, we're lucky that Mister Tony's parents let you come with me to work and you cannot test that Annahlea. You have to be on your best behavior little one, or who knows what will happen-"_

 _"Nothing. Nothing will happen Rosalie," young Tony Stark's voice interrupted, "Nahlee is my friend. And as my friend she's supposed to run around the house with me and get in trouble with me and play with me. She might have come here as your daughter but she stay's here as my friend, my best friend."_

 _Annahlea beamed at Tony, her light tan skin seamed to glow with happiness. She rushed the boy and wrapped her small arms around him in a death grip hug, which Tony smirked and returned._

 _Annahlea may have been three years younger than him but she was definitely his best friend, she was smarter than any of the other kids his mother had set up play dates with. She was kinder than any other kid in any school and she was tough enough to handle his nasty attitudes, when he was cranky._

 _Annahlea Demarco was a female version of Tony. Though the world didn't know of her talents because instead of being a billionaire's daughter she was the daughter of Howard Stark's driver, Vincent DeMarco, an Italian immigrant, and one of Maria Stark's maids, Rosalie Gomez, a Spanish immigrant. No, the world didn't know that while Tony Stark was building his first circuit board at age three, his four-year old friend had built her own engine already. They didn't know that the baby grand piano just brought into the Stark home a week ago and on every tabloid front cover was not for Maria Stark, but a birthday present for Annahlea from Tony because the young prodigy wanted to write her own compositions._

 _No, the world knew nothing of the little genius beside him, she was his own secret treasure and Tony loved having someone around that understood exactly what it was like to be him, who understood him completely. Annahlea was the best thing that had ever happened to Tony and it was only the beginning._

 _..._

 _Thunder rocked the dark night sky outside the Stark home, rain demanded entrance on the home and the Stark family ignored it all, the house silent as everyone slept tight in their beds._

 _Tony Stark was spread out across his large bed, his onyx hair skirting the side of it and a smile graced his eleven year old face as he dreamt of what all eleven year old boys do._

 _The smile was quickly torn from its place as a bright light erupted from the door and basked the young boy in all its glory. Tony flipped over as he heard the soft pitter-patter of feet approaching him quickly._

 _"Anthony," the voice of his mother called and Tony's brow furrowed in response, why would he be disturbed by his mother in the middle of the night, "Anthony wake up!"_

 _Tony groaned in response and peaked an eye open slight, straying into his room away from his mother, "Five more minutes," he begged._

 _"Anthony, it's urgent, wake up! Something has happened to Annahlea," at the sound of his best friend's name Tony's eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up, his face snapping to his mother. A growing ache setting in his stomach as he saw the sadness etched into his mother's beautiful façade and traces of tears inking her pale skin._

 _"What happened?" he asked quickly. His mother took a shaky breath and Tony readied himself. He knew that in the past five years that Annahlea had been around his mother had become quite attached to Annabel, seeing as she was almost constantly at the Stark household. When old enough Annahlea started school, only to find that she well over excelled any elementary grade and could not simply be put into high school as a five-year old, so she started to attend "school" with Tony. Which consisted of him, her, their private tutor, Tony's garage, and on the occasion Maria Stark, when she wasn't at an event. Maria had hung around the child enough to begin to form a connection with her, Maria began to see her as the daughter she never received, taking her on lunch trips and shopping sprees and even spa days. Tony loved it because it meant less time his mother spent trying to get him in a fancy get-up and Annahlea's parents did not mind because once they realized that their daughter was also a genius, her parents didn't know exactly what to do with her. Neither of them had graduated from high school, both struggled with English, nor yet together they created a savant with a brain filled more than either of them could comprehend. Annahlea started to feel a distance growing between her and her parents, one that she could not close by herself and one her parents did not seem even to want to try to leap and she welcomed Maria's warmth with open arms because Maria understood, while being quite bright herself Maria was constantly around genius', her husband and child included, and she could communicate with them well instead of staring at them like their from another planet. Tony knew that if whatever had happened to Annahlea had caused tears down his mother's face, was sure to break his heart._

 _"Anthony, I just received a call from the hospital. It seems as if Annahlea and her family were driving home tonight and-" Maria's voice caught in her throat she quickly cleared it and tried to continue, "and- uh-um were in a car accident… Anthony… Rosalie and Vincent- they're-they're gone-"_

 _"What about Annahlea mom?" Tony asked his voice hardened as much as possible. His breath labored as he waited for her to speak._

 _"All they told me was she was alive but injured pretty badly, Anthony-"_

 _"She's alive- she's alive?" Tony reassured. To which his mother just nodded. Tony let go of the breath he was holding and sprung from the bed, quickly finding his coat and shoes around his room and picking up the phone in his room, calling for his own car and driver to get to their home as soon as possible._

 _As he hung up the phone he looked back to his mother, who stared at him and opened her arms for him to run into. As he held his mother securely to him he let the tears that he had manage to hold back run down his face. His best friend was still alive -hurt but alive- the one person who understood him was still with him and he promised himself that as long as he lived he would never get this close to losing her ever again._

 _..._

 _Annahlea set down the drink tray and heavy, big, brown, paper bag before quickly pulling out her key to the heavy wooden door in front of her, smiling as the lock slid open with a snap and she got access. Her smile was quickly disappeared as she opened the door to see at the back of a lanky, pale, twig, clothed in less than someone who was allergic to cotton, thief in a chair, hunched over a pair of jeans, that she knew where not the thief's. The front of the grape colored bra and panty set being covered as the thief pulled out a wallet and Annahlea rolled her eyes before softly clearing her throat, aware of the sleeping form next to the bandit, which Annahlea still wanted to get the jump on._

 _The thief jumped in surprise, turned to face her captor, her face lighting up in color, as she looked upon_ the _Annahlea DeMarco, the famous best friend of the sleeping form beside her. She dropped the wallet in her grasp and quickly sprung up from the chair, searching the small dorm for her belongings, collecting them quickly before making a beeline for the door that held Annahlea's small figure leaning against the frame._

 _As the thief walked by Annahlea quickly put a hand out to stop her, reaching into the pile of glitter and sparkle that was the thief's clothes and accessories she pulled out a small flip phone and digital camera. Keeping eye contact with the considerably taller thief, Annahlea pressed a couple of buttons on both devices, smiling as both devices displayed an image of the words_ "Memory Cleared". _Annahlea handed over the items to the now agitated thief, a small smirk on her beautiful face. The thief huffed and stormed passed the fourteen-year-old girl who only laughed quietly to herself._

 _Annahlea grabbed her bag and drink tray from the hall and closed the door behind her with her foot setting them on the large desk. She took off her white, cropped, leather jacket and slipped out of her black flats, her feet meeting the soft carpet and she turned to the sleeping form, jumping and landing on Tony's back._

 _Annahlea chuckles at the groan and the groggy voice of Tony Stark speaking out, "For a small thing you really are dense."_

 _Annahlea scrunched up her face in fake offense and bounced roughly on his back only to receive another groan," What? What was that Tony? Was that, Thank you Nahlee for once again saving my ass and not only stopping a thief from stealing the several hundred dollars I keep on me but from saving me from the wrath of my parents and deleting the photos she had of an illegally drunk, and not to mention naked, me with a ball and gag in my mouth?" she paused as she heard a slight groan from him and she reached for the coffee she brought him, "Because if it was, I just have to say, oh no problem Tiger! You know how much I'd hate to see Mom contort with that anger face she has, and I definitely wouldn't want Dad to disown you. Now how about we just call it even and you get up and enjoy this lovely coffee and breakfast I sent for, for us, and rise and shine and get ready because your graduation is at ten and mine is at four. And, I swear to go Tony the Tiger, if you make either one of us late I will lock you in a closet for nine days and let different groups of your fan girls from all over the world come in and take all you hold dear."_

 _As she finished she, put the coffee close to his face as he lifted his tired, hangover, head and stared at it, ""Is that a Grande, half-skinny half-"_

 _"One percent, extra hot, split quad shot, latte with three sugars, two vanilla bean creams, one caramel macchiato cream, and the AC/DC logo poured over the whip cream in dark fudge? Yes, Tony, yes it is. As if I were to dream to get you anything else." The boy of almost eighteen groaned once more, taking the coffee from his best friend and turning over in his bed._

 _He stared at his best friend of nearly ten years, even if they were just friends Tony was a boy, and had definitely noted that his companion was one of the most beautiful –and hot- girls he had ever seen. She had the figure of her late mother, five three, creamy tan skin, long, ebony locks, full pink lips a small nose on her heart-shaped face, a thin waist with, even though she was only thirteen, a heavy breast. If Tony were to guess –which he would never, since they were just friends, after all- he would say that her bulging breasts, that hardly fit into her small, lilac colored, sweetheart necklines tank top she wore, were at least a "D" cup- if he were to guess. Her heavy top was evenly proportioned by her plump bottom, that made her dark wash skinny jeans that much tighter. She was the mirror's reflection of her mother as Tony remembered, all except for her eyes. Her eyes were all her father, looking like the sky during a heavy storm, a rolling gray with flecks of gold lightning in them, though while her fathers were cold and steely, Nahlee's shined with a warming glow, always inviting and ever so expressive. Tony could always see what was in her head by what her eyes were showing._

 _As Annahlea looked back at him from spreading out their morning feast, Tony made a quick remark, "There was no ball and gag."_

 _Turning away to make his plate of glorious goodies, Annahlea responded, "Sure. And, what would you be using, the dog toy with the tie that mom got you for your first day here going through it that's under your bed, for exactly? I'm just curious." She handed over his plate, piled high with pancakes, sausage, bacon, muffins, eggs, crepes and more to him, taking his coffee simultaneously and placing it on the desk, so he could eat, before making her own._

 _With her back turned Tony quickly glanced at the floor under his bed, only to curse himself at the image and once again, for the millionth time in his life, thank God for his Nahlee. Pictures, any pictures, but especially those, out for the world to see, would not have went over well with his parents._

 _He looked back at his savior in adoration as she sat on the edge of his bed eating her own breakfast, "So how does it feel to be the youngest person ever to receive a doctorate in medicine? Not to mention how does it feel to be graduating from Harvard with not only that, but a masters in both music history, language study and physics. Plus a bachelors in political science and communications."_

 _"I don't know, how does it feel to be the youngest person ever to receive a doctorate in engineering, and a masters in not only physics but mathematics and technology?" she looked at him, brow raise in question. Tony just answered with a shrug in which she mirrored, the two best friends stared at each other before bursting out into laughter._

 _When he could breathe again Tony told her, "You know I think you're the only one who will ever be able to understand me."_

 _"Tony. Even if that's true it will be okay because I'll always be with you."_

 _"Good, I wouldn't want it any other way."_


End file.
